Aeroplane construction



2 Shets-Sheet 1 E DEWOITINE AEROPLANE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 1924 NOV- Nov. 17; 1925- E. DEWOITINE ,Patented Nov. 17, 1925.

EMILE DEWOITINE. O F- TOULOUSE. FRANCE.

mormn CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed July 8, 1924. Serial No. 724,856.

To all whom it may co'vwern:

Be it known that I, EMILnDnwoI'rmn, a

citizen of France, and a resident of Toulouse,

Haute-Garonn'e Department, France, have invented certain newJand useful Improvements in Aeroplane Constructions; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact-description of the invention such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which .it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements 'in aeroplane construction.

In the first place, it concerns the mounting of an engine in the overhung position at the side of the main body of an aeroplane by means of discs, tubes and cables in such .manner that the frame composed of the said elements shall be entirel rigid, this result being obtained without e ending uponthe flexion of any one of the e ements.

Secondly, the invention has for its obb all-metal hull,

)BCt the construction of an wherein the internal portion and the walls are entirely free from any trellis structure, and whose bending strength is due to the so approved connectlon between an internal framework consi tin of transverse members.

and spars, and t e s set metal covering elements of suitable thickness. The said construction serves chiefly for the main body of the aeroplane containing the passengers and frei ht, but its use may be extended to all o jects which are to be contained within an element having a perfectly continuous and streamlined surface.

The invention lastl relates-to the construction of a spar w ereof the beams and struts have the tubular form and the inclined elements consist of cables or piano wires. The following description,

the appended drawings which are iven by way 0 example, sets forth my sai invention.

Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively diagram-- matic front elevational and plan views of an aeroplane body provided at each side with an engine frame.

cables 6 and a single tube disposed m, n and o, are fitted between the two Walls together with Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic detail view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view a larger scale.

Fig. 5 shows the main body of the aeroplane.

Figs. 6 and 7 are detail views.

Fig. 8 shows one of the spars on a large scale. v

The engine frame comprises a sheetmetal member a to which the engine is secured by the bolts 6, and which is mounted at the end of four main tubes 0 d e f traversing two circular discs 9 and h, each disc consisting of two metal plates connected together by U -shaped mem ers which are riveted to the periphery, as shown in Fig. 4.

The said tubes are cross braced by of the engine frame on 55 the j in the four lateral planes determined by their axes in the region between the two discs. Forwardly of the w front disc, i. e. between the latter and the said engine. 1 te,-the cross-bracing is maintained at t e u per and lower .faces, the racing being e ected not by cables butby ineach-of the'two planes of thelateral face z The frame composed of the four tubes and the two discs being thus made rigid, the same is to be secured-to the aeroplane body; this result is obtained in the following manner, Figs. 1 to 4. Two pairs of tubes Z and of the discs 9 audit and riveted to the sheet metal of these latter; they are provided with the connecting members p. and g, o and s, respectively, cooperating with like members mounted u on corresponding tubes which are. fitted into thediscs ortransverse elements of the 'aero lane body and are in line with the tubes fend m, n and o, the said connecting members being bolted together. To obviate allflexion, suitable cross-bracing cables t and u are disposed on the four lateral faces determined y the axes of the said tubes. The device is mounted and dismounted by means of 4 bolts and 8 stretchers at the minimum; the frame and en ine can be removed as a whole and replaced y alike frame com rising an engine ready to operate. Butt e engine may also be removed if desired without interfering with the'frame.

Y the connectin The engine .frame is covered with sheet metal plates of suitable shape which are mounted upon the two discs 9 and It so as to 'ofier, a streamline surface. The piping and the control cables are disposed along tubes and within the streamline facing, eing provided with suitable connections or unions adjacent the said conc d e f and-their cross-bracing.

.necting members of the tubes. The shape of the engine frame is well adapted for the installation of fuel feedingdevices within the parallelepipedon formed by the tubes Figs. 5 to 7 showan aerop ane body also comprising transverse members or discs, and upon which may be .mounted the engine frames as above described; the said body consists essentially of the transverse discs 0., 6 .etc., of a very light. construction, the spars J, etc., and the longitudinal strips e 1 etc., the whole being covered by sheet metal plates of streamline shape whichare riveted along" the said strips and discs. The latter are usually of an oval form, but may be otherwise shaped provided the outlines are well rounded the discs consist of two thin sheet metal members suitably. cut out and forming two parallel cheeks which are joined upon the. whole of their inner contour by small U-shaped pieces of thin sheet metal which arebent into shape and form a thereto the sheet metal covering. The said double-walled discs are completed by intermediate transverse members of light construction which consists of a single thickness of sheet metal, provided with a corner piece as above stated. The number and spacing of the said transverse members is variable the latter are provided with slots of rectangular section cooperating with thee ars and strips. 7 These latter members di er only from each other in the thickness of the sheet metal entering into their construction; the said spars are shownzas four in number in the drawings, but a greater number can be employed the number of the intermediate strips s also variable, depending upon the spacing to be allowed between two consecutlve strips. Both spars andstrips may be given a U cross section, as shown in Fig. 6;

, they are secured in the said slots of the discs by small corner pieces 7', Fig. 7, and comprise the cheeks is, Fig. 6, to which the sheet metal covering is secured.

This latter consists of plates which can be preliminarily given a streamline shape if rcquired-this being generally the case for the parts having a pronounced curvature such as the top and bottom of the hull-and are mounted upon the said discs and strips, being riveted as above stated to the cheeks of the spars and strips and to the flanges of the corner pieces of the discs;' obviously, "the junction of any two plates will coincide with one of the strips or corner pieces, the edges ofthe sheets being in the overlapping posi tion. The whole is maintained in place by light copper bolts, the latter being then removed in turn and re' laced by rivets which are inserted from the interior of the hull and riveted at the exterior; from what precedes it is supposed that a workman can be stationed Within the hull or can'introduce his arm with the riveting tool.

By this perfect connection, the sheet metal covering will participate in the" general strength of the construction, so that the hull 'will now act as a unit body, and in designing the same one may apply all the formulae which are based upon the rigidity of straight sections, care being taken however to rovide for the possible yielding of the w ole of the compressed region.

The invention further relates to the construction of tubular spars for aeroplane der to facilitate the insertion, the tube d is fitted into the tube 0 to the required distance (depending upon the number of rivets f to be used) and the rivets f and the tool are inserted through the open end 9 when the riveting has been performed, the

tube 6 can be fitted into the tube (i and so The vertical struts h are mounted in place after the completion of the tubular beams, and they aresecured thereto by small corner pieces having a slight curvature i which are riveted to the struts and screwed to the said beams. The trellis structure is mounted in the last place, cables or piano wires being stretched between forked connectors is mounted in the overhang position at the side of the main body and consists of discs,

tubes, and cables connecting the said discs,

vforming a rigid structure to which is secured the plate supporting the engine, andtubes connecting the said structure with the aeroplane body;

2. An engine frame for aeroplanes which is mounted in overhanging position at the side of the aeroplane body, comprising discs, tubes and cables connecting said discs to form a rigid structure to which the engine supporting plate is to be secured, tubes for connecting said structure to the aeroplane body, transverse discs, longrons connected 10 to the discs at their circumference and sheet metal covering said longrons.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name hereto.

EMILE DEWOITINE. 

